Applications vs Apples, or Never Mind the Goldfish Bowl!
"Yes, but what does it mean for us NOW?"
That's a question that keeps turning up in conversations, podcasts, clips…
It's also one that I've often heard about my writing.
"It's all very well to say this, but what's the application? What's the takeaway? And how does it benefit ME?"
I'm paraphrasing. But it's also along the lines of something I suspect an AI might say —
>> What's the outcome?
>> What do you hope people will feel/do/learn/realise…
And then again in news reports:
"Look, Sarah."
(The word "look" as an audible sleight of hand, or the interviewer's first name, same thing. Redirecting, distracting, cards up the sleeve kind of thing.…)
"People aren't concerned about those principles and values. What they care about is their pocketbook."
(Sorry, what's a pocket book? Am I allowed to ask? I think they mean money.)
Someone tells a goldfish in a goldfish bowl —
"The bowl you're in is actually stolen property, and the police are giving it back today."
"The water you're in comes from a polluted source."
"There's going to be an earthquake."
And the goldfish says,
"Look, Sarah, the real question is what's the impact on goldfish food."
And all this gets described as a kind of shift in thinking.
A move toward a general refocus of attention.
Intentional?
Everyone is cautious about suggesting things like this have a cause or blame. They'd rather point to how things just happen. Social dynamics. Cultural norms. Generational differences.
It certainly starts somewhere, though. Even if it then becomes a habit through use.
It seems to me not just a natural cultural evolution but a populist media-driven, reductionist perspective. Flattened and — pillaged seems like the word. I think we should investigate, own, and rectify it as a fundamental element of literacy and critical thinking.
A moral issue.
Let them think about cake! (Marie Antoinette's media campaign…)
Meanwhile, no one's talking about apples. Only Apple™.
No wonder the Bible feels heavy work.
What do we want? QUICK FIXES!
When do we want them? AT 5G FIBRE OPTIC SPEEDS EVEN IN RURAL AREAS OR THERE'S NO JUSTICE IN THE WORLD!
Who wants to spend life engaging with sources?
Snappy digest overviews'll do.
No wonder the rich get richer.
No wonder the poor get poorer.
'Needs' are based in the currencies of applications instead of apples.
